Innovative Technologies To Improve Low Vision

Abstract

According to WHO data from 2015 – globally 36 million people are blind, 253 million are visually impaired, 55% of whom are women. The creator of modern optical aids for the visually impaired is the famous American scientist William Feinbloom. The special devices to support the low vision are mainly divided into non-optical, optical and electronic. Of interest are the special magnifying devices for surgical implantation in the anterior segment of the eye – mini-telescopes. They apply the concept of enlarging the image on the retina, using a combination of minus and plus lenses as a magnifying glass. A new generation lens “Eyemax mono” is also a technological achievement. It is intended for monocular or binocular implantation in patients with AMD. An innovation is the use of a contact lens for visual rehabilitation – Contact Telescopic Lens. It is a solid gas-permeable scleral contact lens. The Argus II prosthesis is the first epiretinal prosthesis that restores vision in patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa. „Artificial intelligence“ glasses are too expensive. OrCam MyEye can read all printed texts, in addition, the device detects and recognizes objects and people, and recently has software in Bulgarian. In Bulgaria there is no integrated approach to the problem of the visually impaired. Most people with severe visual impairments, unlike complete blindness, have residual useful vision.